We are interested in using Zammad as a successor of our OTRS instance. However, we obviously only want to use Free Software, and the recommended installation of the proprietary Elasticsearch version is a no-go. The “OSS” version of ES is no longer maintained.
Therefore I was interested in experiences of people/organisations that use OpenSearch instead. As this fork intends to be compatible with Elasticsearch it’s not completely impossible, but there could already be conflicts.
Alternatively, is it a viable option to not use a search provider? I wasn’t able to find the features that depend on Elasticsearch.
Although I do not use OpenSearch, I do use Elasticsearch. I haven’t upgraded to 8 yet, so I’m still on 7.17. According to their website support is continuing. I’m not sure what you mean by it not being free or maintained?
Elasticsearch is no longer Free Software (Open Source), starting from version 7.11. There is an antique “OSS” version (basically the last release before the license change) but that is no longer maintained, and is for example vulnerable for log4shell.
Therefore, the only feasible alternatives would be to use no search engine at all, or OpenSearch, a fork with a proper license. I would like to ask for reports on both of these alternatives.
Perhaps I misunderstand the current licensing. According to their website: Why free and open? | Elastic, they are still free.
A lack of search would cripple the reporting along with a number of other aspects, so I don’t think that would be an option. Not sure about opensearch.
What they do is classical open-washing. Please trust me with this: Elasticsearch is no longer Free and Open Source Software. They use no license approved by the FSF or OSI. Their software might be “free” in the sense of gratis, but not even this actually.
I’ll be looking into it further and checking options. As I stated I’m currently running 7.17 which does not have the log4 vulnerability.
I believe someone asked about Opensearch before and it isn’t fully compatible. Would take some configuration to make it work I imagine. I definitely would not use Zammad without a search though. I don’t think that would be a viable option.